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Trayvon Martin gun 'removed from auction site'

Gun that killed black teenager disappears from auction site but shooter George Zimmerman posted on another website.

12 May 2016 20:35 GMT

Zimmerman's court acquittal for the killing of Martin sparked a national debate about race relations [AP]

The gun with which unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin was shot dead has been put up for sale on another website by George Zimmerman, the man responsible for the shooting, after it was removed from a US auction site he initially listed it on.

Martin, an unarmed black teenager, was killed by Zimmerman in the US state of Florida in February 2012.

In an interview with Orlando TV station WOFL, Zimmerman said he had just got the pistol back from the US Justice Department, which took it after he was controversially cleared of any wrongdoing for the killing.

"And I thought it's time to move past the firearm," Zimmerman told the station. "And if I sell it and it sells, I move past it. Otherwise, it's going in a safe for my grandkids and never to be used or seen again."

However, the posting on the US gun auction site Gun Broker was removed on Thursday, with the company telling the Orlando Sentinel it wants "no part in the listing on our website or in any of the publicity it is receiving".

Moments later, Zimmerman posted the gun on a different website, telling the paper the first site had not been "prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction".

The bidding for the gun began at $5,000, before it was removed from the site [Gary W Green/EPA]

It would also fund combating anti-gun rhetoric of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and ending the career of Angela Corey, the lawyer who led the prosecution against Zimmerman, the listing says.

The listing ended with a Latin phrase that translates as "if you want peace, prepare for war."

Killing of Trayvon Martin

Zimmerman, now 32, has said he was defending himself when he shot and killed Martin, 17, in a gated community near Orlando.

Martin, who lived in Miami with his mother, was visiting his father at the time.

Zimmerman's court acquittal for the killing of Martin sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later decided not to bring a civil rights case against Zimmerman.

Since then, Zimmerman has been charged with assault based on complaints from two girlfriends. In both cases, the girlfriends refused to cooperate and charges were dropped.

"The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States," read a statement provided by the office of Benjamin Crump, who represents the Martin family. The statement was attributed to Tracy Martin, the teenager's father.

"This election season, we are laser-focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person."